Ariel Monroe and the Year She Became Ivy Potter
by BunnyLordIsHere
Summary: Ariel Monroe is a normal girl who is transported into the world of Harry Potter to become our main character. Girl!Harry. Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, would I be writing fanfiction about it? Please leave reviews. I can only improve and answer questions if you leave reviews.
1. Chapter 1

Ariel Monroe was a typical 10 year old girl. She spent her days outside, playing with her friends and taking in the fresh air. She made up games and ran away from the neighborhood boys, shrieking and giggling about their cooties. She had two extremely loving parents, and lived every moment of her short life well.

So when Ariel went to bed the night before her birthday on April thirteenth, she wasn't expecting or even hoping to wake up anywhere except her own bed. That's why, when she woke up in a large seat in an unknown location, she nearly began to panic. There was a window beside her, so she stood and looked out it. She was in a train station and she could see hundreds of people waving goodbye to their families.

Ariel was on a _train_ and it was _moving_. She was panicking. She didn't know what to do! Where was she, how did she get here, how was she supposed to get home?!

There was a rap on the door and Ariel looked up. At the entrance to her compartment was a tall redheaded boy with a smudge of what looked like dirt on his nose. Ariel felt like she should know him, but she knew she didn't.

The tall boy pointed to the large empty seat across from her and spoke. "Anyone sitting there? Everywhere else is full."

Ariel simply gestured for him to take a seat. As he sat down he stared at her. She supposed he thought he was being subtle about his staring, but it was as obvious as the boil her aunt had on her chin. As the boy noticed she knew he was staring he quickly turned his head to look out the window. She followed suit and watched the scenery pass by for a moment.

Her scenery watching was interrupted by two identical redheaded boys sliding the compartment door open and addressing the tall boy with the dirt smudge on his nose.

"Hey, Ron." Ron turned to look at them. "Listen, we're going down the middle of the train — Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."

"Right," mumbled Ron. Ariel had a feeling he didn't much like spiders of any sort. She couldn't quite blame him — spiders weren't exactly her favorite creatures either.

"Ivy," said one twin, obviously addressing Ariel, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley," they said in unison. "This is Ron, our brother." She probably could have figured that out herself, but refrained from saying so. "See you later, then." They waved goodbye then walked off, leaving the two alone.

Ron fidgeted for a moment or so and kept looking at Ariel out of the corner of his eye while pretending to stare out the window. He looked straight at her and opened his mouth like he was about to say something but closed his mouth and went back to staring out the window several times. Finally, he turned, squared his shoulders, opened his mouth, and promptly deflated and closed his mouth again. Ariel was having a fine time attempting not to laugh when he finally blurted what he'd been wanting to say for the last few minutes.

"Are you really Ivy Potter?"

Not exactly knowing who Ivy Potter was, but assuming it was her since the redheaded twins had called her Ivy, she nodded.

"Oh — well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes," Ron admitted. "And have you really got — you know... " Ron hesitated, then pointed at Ariel's forehead.

Ariel didn't have the faintest clue of what he was referring to. She reached up and rubbed her forehead under her bangs and felt what he was talking about. A bit of raised skin that could only be a scar in the oddest shape she'd ever felt was resting there where it hadn't before. While completely perplexed as to how it had gotten there, Ariel decided to lift her hair and show him anyway, as he was waiting excitedly.

Ron stared at it in awe.

"So that's where You-Know-Who —?" Ariel didn't, in fact, know who this You-Know-Who was, but decided it was best to just play along. She could figure out all she needed to know at a later time.

"Yes," she murmured, "but I can't remember it." Which was the truth as she had no idea what exactly was happening with any of this. She was somewhat surprised at her new British accent that was American before she woke up, but chose to ignore it as everyone else seemed to have similar accents.

"Nothing?" Said Ron eagerly, as if she would actually tell this stranger anything, even if she did know!

"Nope, nothing," she said quickly before the questions started flying. Ron looked slightly disappointed at this news but recovered quickly.

"Wow," he said. He sat and stared at her for a few moments. Ariel cleared her throat and he jerked back a little, then looked out the window after realizing what he was doing without so much of an apology for his rudeness. She rolled her eyes.

It was quiet until Ron started asking more questions.

"I heard you went to live with Muggles," he started. "What are they like?" What on earth was a Muggle and why did it sound so insulting?

Ariel's brain supplied the answer. 'A Muggle is a person of nonmagical descent with no magic themselves.' This brought on even more questions. Magic? What did magic have to do with ANYTHING? 'You're a witch,' her brain whispered. 'A witch with great power, Ariel. In this world, your name is Ivy Potter, and you defeated one of the most evil wizards in magical history when you were but a baby.' This didn't clear much up for Ariel, but she answered as best she could from the memories that were beginning to pop up in her brain.

"They weren't the greatest," she answered, looking out the window. "My relatives weren't the greatest of people. Most Muggles are rather nice, though."

"Oh," Ron said. "Well, at least you don't live with five brothers and a sister." He looked somewhat gloomy, which Ariel didn't understand. She would be ecstatic to have so many siblings, as she was an only child. "I'm the sixth to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to."

Her brain rapidly supplied answers to her questions of what Hogwarts was and anything else it felt she needed to know.

"Bill and Charlie have already left — Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny."

Ariel thought Ron should have been happy for his siblings doing so well in their education, but could understand why he seemed so putout at being the sixth to attend the magic school. He felt like he couldn't live up to the expectations of everyone else and felt like he didn't have anything left to do because his brothers had already done it.

"Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat." Ariel had been dead-on with her assumption of his feelings of under-ratedness.

Ron pulled a large gray rat that looked like it hadn't recently missed any meals. It was fast asleep and didn't seem to be waking up anytime soon.

"His name's Scabbers," what a gross name, she thought, "and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff — I mean, I got Scabbers instead."

Ron went back to staring out the window, as he seemed to be too embarrassed to look at Ariel. She didn't think there was anything wrong with not having the money to buy a new pet for all their sons. She knew that a lot of people couldn't afford even the simplest things, and she found nothing wrong with that. Ariel figured that Ron's parents were extremely hardworking, if the description of their children were anything to go by.

It was quiet again while Ariel watched the memories of the real Ivy Potter that were supplied by her brain. She was surprised by the mistreatment the real Ivy Potter had faced from the Dursleys. They were horrible people, and didn't deserve to have any children, let alone guardianship over the seemingly famous girl.

She watched the rest of the memories at high-speed quietly, even discovering why she was famous, and meeting the scary-looking friendly half-giant known as Hagrid. She witnessed The Letter Fiasco and even more mistreatment from the Dursleys and wondered how they were able to get away with that behavior. Why did no social workers come to check on her on a regular basis?

Her memory watching was interrupted by another question from Ron.

"Have you always known you're a witch, or did someone tell you when you got your letter?" He seemed genuinely curious.

"When I got my letter, the man who delivered it explained everything to me. Until Hagrid — that's who delivered my letter, by the way — explained everything to me, I had no idea I was a witch. I didn't even know about my parents or Voldemort —"

Ron gasped at the utterance of the feared name.

"What?" Ariel asked, confused.

"You said You-Know-Who's name," Ron breathed, sounding extremely shocked, yet impressed at the same time. "I'd have thought you, of all people —"

"What's wrong with that?" Ariel asked aloud. Her brain answered for him. 'It is taboo in this world,' it breathed. 'People fear it. They do not speak it for fear of it.'

Ariel didn't understand this, but chose not to voice this thought when Ron answered her question.

Instead, she said, "See? I have a lot to learn yet. I don't know nearly enough as I need to survive in the magical world. I'll have to check out some books..." She trailed off as she thought fondly of the books she'd be able to read.

Ariel — Ivy, she thought she should start calling herself — and Ron talked quietly about the coming school year for a while longer before conversation ended. It was quiet for a time as they watched fields and lanes pass quickly.

When Ariel-Ivy next checked her watch, it was half past noon. A friendly old woman cracked their compartment door open and asked them if they'd like anything off the cart she was wheeling up and down the train. Ron declined, but Ariel-Ivy decided to buy a few things with the strange coins she knew to be galleons, sickles, and knuts she had found in her pockets.

The real Ivy Potter never had any money to buy sweets, or anything she'd enjoy, really. Ariel felt a touch of sorrow, but knew that if the two had traded places, she was being loved and cared for at this very moment by the best parents anyone could ask for. Ariel-Ivy picked out the candy that looked the best and paid the sweet old lady the proper amount of sickles and knuts.

She walked back in to the compartment and dumped her load on her mostly empty seat while Ron stared.

"Hungry, are you?" He asked in a slightly incredulous voice.

"A little. I just really wanted to get a good selection for the two of us," she answered with a friendly smile in the tall redheaded boy's direction.

"Oh, you didn't have to buy enough for two," he mumbled, obviously embarrassed. "My mum packed me some sandwiches for the trip." He held up a couple sandwiches wrapped in plastic that he plainly didn't like much, from the wrinkle of dislike in his nose. "It's corned beef," he explained in answer to her questioning look, "and mum forgets that I don't like corned beef."

Ariel-Ivy nodded her head slowly and pulled a pumpkin pasty from her pile of goodies. "Well, you can just have this instead." She tossed it at him, and he nearly didn't catch it for shock. He didn't understand why this stranger was offering the food that she had bought to him without asking for anything return.

And then he realized she probably _would_ want something in return. He knew he had nothing to offer except the dry, disgusting sandwiches his mother had packed for him.

"You don't want these sandwiches," he told her. "They're dry. She hasn't really got much time though," he said in defense of his mother's sandwich making skills, "what, with five of us."

"I don't want the sandwich," Ariel-Ivy told him. "You can have anything you want from this pile — free of charge," she assured. She couldn't eat all of the sweets on her own!

With that, Ron sat forward and took a few more things from the pile to eat. He looked extremely grateful. He and Ariel-Ivy sat and ate their way through all of her cakes and pasties and candies. Ron's sandwiches lay forgotten in the corner of his seat.

Ariel's face twisted in disgust when she picked up a pack of chocolate frogs.

"These aren't really frogs, are they?" She asked, grimacing.

"Course not," Ron answered. "But see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa."

_What on Earth is Agrippa?_

Seeing her bewildered stare, Ron explained. "Chocolate Frogs have cards in them, you know, to collect — famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy." Ariel nodded in understanding.

"Well I'll be sure to give you the card if I get either of them." She smiled.

Ariel-Ivy unwrapped her Chocolate frog and pulled out the card. On it was an old man that could only be described as grandfatherly. He wore half-moon glasses and had enough silvery hair to last anyone years past their lifetime. Underneath the picture of the old man was the name Albus Dumbledore.

She remembered this name from her stolen memories. She was quite surprised that he looked so friendly.

"So _this_ is Dumbledore," she murmured. Ron seemed to hear her anyway.

"Don't tell me you'd never heard of Dumbledore!" She shot him an annoyed look.

"Ron, if I'd never heard of Dumbledore, would I be wondering if this is him?" He was silent for a moment. He looked quite abashed a second later and murmured an apology. "Exactly," she said with a quiet laugh that made Ron turn pink and smile.

He reached for another Frog while Ariel-Ivy turned her card over and read the information.

**'CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS**

**_'Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the Dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.'_**

She turned the card back over, humming, and was surprised to see that Dumbledore's face was no longer where it should have been.

"He's gone," she said softly, rubbing her thumb over the designated photo area.

"Well, he can't hang around all day, can he? He'll be back," Ron said. "Man, I got Morgana again... Do you want it? You can start collecting."

Ariel-Ivy accepted the offered card and Ron grabbed another few Chocolate Frogs.

"In the Muggle world," Ariel-Ivy said, "people just stay still in photographs."

With half of a hunk of Chocolate Frog hanging out of his mouth, Ron looked at her in anazement. "Do they really? They don't move at all? That's, wow." He couldn't seem to find the words to explain the greatness of unmoving photographs.

Ariel-Ivy opened a few more Frogs, but when she started to feel a little nauseous from all the chocolate, she decided to eat something else from the pile. She picked out a box that was labeled Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

"You want to be careful with those," Ron warned her. "They _mean_ every flavor. You get the ordinary ones, but you can also get the nasty ones, like spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he got a booger-flavored one once."

They took turns then picking beans out of the box and eating them. They had a good time, laughing and joking and daring each other to eat the particularly nasty-looking ones. Ariel-Ivy got toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine, and was brave enough to eat a gray one that Ron wouldn't touch. It turned out to be pepper. Ron somehow had the worst luck and ended up getting mostly disgusting flavors.

The countryside was flashing past the window now. Gone were neat wheat and vegetable fields. Now, large woods with wild, huge trees, winding streams and rivers, and dark green hills were flying by. The view was beautiful to Ivy, who had lived in a Suburb and rarely even got to see any woods.

There was a knock at the compartment door and a round-faced boy who Ariel-Ivy could vaguely remember stepped in. He looked extremely distraught and on the verge of tears.

"Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?"

"No, sorry," Ariel-Ivy answered. She felt sorry for the poor boy. He looked so heart-broken.

"I've lost him," the boy sniffled. "Not halfway there and I've lost him."

"He'll turn up," Ariel-Ivy said sincerely.

The boy gave her a watery, not completely real smile and nodded. "Well, if you see him..."

He shuffled out.

"Dunno why he's so bothered," said Ron. "If I brought a toad I'd lose t as quick as I could."

Ariel-Ivy immediately defended the toadless boy.

"Maybe he's had that toad for a long time, Ronald. Just because it's not the coolest pet doesn't mean he doesn't love it."

"I know, I know," he tried to appease her. "I was going to say that I couldn't talk, since I brought Scabbers."

She nodded in understanding. The rat in question was snoozing away in Ron's lap and looked like he had died.

"He might have died and you wouldn't know it," said Ron in disgust. "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look..."

While he rummaged around in his trunk, searching for his wand, Ariel-Ivy asked, "What's the spell?" Ron recited it to her quickly. The words made her laugh loudly.

"What?" Ron asked, looking slightly offended. From the real Ivy's memories, that didn't sound like a spell at all.

"That's not even a spell!" She said with another chuckle.

"Well, George is the one who told it to me! Not my fault he lied to me," he said indignantly, gesturing with his wand.

The compartment door slid open again at this moment. The toadless boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said. Ariel-Ivy already knew she didn't like this girl with this one sentence. The girl had a bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair, and rather large front teeth.

"We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron. The girl wasn't listening though. Her eyes were glued to the wand in Ron's hand.

"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it then."

She sat down. Ron looked taken aback.

"Er —"

"Excuse me, but we did not invite you into our compartment," Ariel interrupted, staring straight at the girl. She felt it was incredibly rude of her to just walk in here and act like they were obligated to do anything. No manners, whatsoever.

"Um, what?" The girl asked, looking confused at being addressed.

"You walked in here, and asked about Neville's toad. We understand that. I'd be quite distressed if we had lost our pet, too. But when Ron told you we had already been asked about it and had not seen it, you sat right down and demanded to be shown magic. We have never met you, and on top of that, you didn't even knock. I've never experienced such a lack of manners from anyone," Ariel-Ivy said angrily.

The girl had steadily gone red during this small speech and when Ariel-Ivy was finished, she ducked her head in mortification.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, sounding close to tears. It's just, I'm from a Muggle family and I assumed others might —"

"We don't care," Ariel interrupted. "You can come back when you gain some manners." She turned back to face Ron, effectively dismissing the annoying girl.

The girl left with Neville quickly after this.

"Whatever house I'm in," Ron said after a long silence, "I hope she's not in it."

Ariel laughed.

Ron tossed his wand back into his trunk. "Stupid George, giving me a fake spell. Thanks for telling me before she got in. Have a feeling she's act like she was better than me because of it." She just made a noncommittal noise.

"What House are your brothers in," she asked.

"Gryffindor," he answered. He expression became gloomy. "Mum and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I suppose Ravenclaw would be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin."

"That's the House Voldemort was in, right?"

Ron flinched and nodded. Ariel-Ivy hummed in thought.

"So what do your older brothers do now that they've left, anyway?" She wondered what sort of careers were available in the magical world.

"Charlie studies dragons at a reserve in Romania. Bill is doing stuff for Gringotts in Africa, " Ron answered. "Did you hear about Gringotts, by the way? It's been all over the Daily Prophet, but you wouldn't get that, living with Muggles, would you? Anyway, someone tried to rob a high security vault."

Ariel-Ivy racked her stolen memories for Gringotts and discovered it was a bank ran by strange little people called Goblins. It was insane to try to rob the place, and anyone who tried in the past had died a horrific death.

"What happened to them?" She asked curiously.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Yea, that's why it's such big news! They haven't been caught. My dad says it must've been a powerful Dark wizard to get round Gringotts, but they don't think they took anything. That's the odd part. 'Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who is behind it."

Ariel-Ivy nodded and hummed as she took this news in. It was strange news indeed, and she wondered if people could stay alive after being blasted apart like Voldemort was. She would have to spend a bit of time in the library to see if she could find anything.

"Do you like Quidditch?" Ron asked abruptly.

"I've never seen any games," she answered. She remembered Hagrid talking about it after the real Ivy's shopping trip to Madame Malkin's, but knew next to nothing about the game.

"What!" Ron looked dumbfounded. "Oh, you wait," Ron said, practically bouncing. "It's the best game in the world!" He then proceeded to explain every aspect of the game. Ariel-Ivy agreed that it sounded amazing. Ron described the best games he'd ever seen and what type of broom he's get if he had the money. She oohed and ahed every now and then when she felt it was Appropriate and was genuinely impressed with something he said. He was taking her through the finer points of the game when the compartment door slid open yet again. This time it wasn't Neville or the annoying girl, though.

Three boys entered, and Ariel-Ivy vaguely recognized the middle one. He was in Madam Malkin's with the real Ivy. He had been awful and the teal Ivy had automatically hated the rat-faced boy. Ariel didn't much like him either. He made her uncomfortable.

"Is it true?" he said. "They're saying all down the train that Ivy Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"

"Perhaps," Ariel said quietly, watching the three boys closely, especially the two boys on the outside. They were huge. She imagined they were Rat-Face's body guards. He didn't much look like he could fight to save his life.

"This is Crabbe and Goyle," said Rat-Face, smoothing down his already slicked back white-blonde hair. "My name is Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."

Ron coughed slightly, covering a snigger, and Draco Malfoy immediately looked at him. Ariel smiled at Ron's obvious amusement.

"Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford." Ariel immediately lost any trace of a smile.

Malfoy turned back to her. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."

He held out his hand for Ariel to shake, but Ariel just stared at him coldly.

"I suggest you get out of our compartment," she said softly, staring into his eyes. "I don't make a habit of being nice to conceited jerks who insult my friends." She walked forward, ready to push them out by force if need be. She wasn't afraid of him, or his obviously less-than-intelligent bodyguards. They seemed to still be trying to comprehend what she'd just said.

Malfoy went pink in the cheeks, obviously offended by her comment.

"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. Unless you're a bit politer, you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around riffraff like the Weasleys and Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you."

"Good, I could do with becoming a better person," she said, halting any more insults from him. It was plain she didn't care what he thought of her new friends. " Now get out. I don't need to be contaminated by you," she said nastily.

"But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys?" He asked his idiots. "We're hungry, and you seem to have plenty of food." He smiled slowly, not looking scary in any way with his bright pink cheeks.

Goyle reached for some Frogs next to Ron and before Ron could do anything, Scabbers had already attacked. He was hanging from Goyle's knuckle and Goyle was yelling like he was dying. He swung his arm, Scabbers flying with it before his sharp little teeth lost grip and he went soaring through the air into the window. The three boys left as soon as Scabbers had detached from Goyle's finger.

A moment later, the annoying girl walked in and glanced around in surprise. "What on Earth happened here?" She was ignored.

"I think he's been knocked out," Ro told Ariel-Ivy. He examined the tubby rat closely. "No way! He's gone back to sleep!" He exclaimed in shock.

And so he had. Scabbers was such a strange rat.

"So you've met Malfoy before?" Ron asked after setting his pet back down on the seat.

She explained the meeting in Diagon Alley, pretending that the other girl wasn't there.

"I've heard of his family," Ron informed Ariel-Ivy darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. They claimed to have been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side."

Ariel mulled this over for a moment before she decided that the annoying girl's lurking was a bit unnerving.

"Can we help you with something?" she said civilly.

The girl blushed and stammered a little. "I uh, I just wanted to uhm, I just wanted to apologize for my rudeness earlier, and to tell you that I've spoken to the conductor and he says we're almost there, so it may be a good idea to get into you robes, and that I hope you haven't been fighting because it would be simply dreadful to be in trouble with someone before we even get to school." She said this quickly and fidgeted nervously. Ariel-Ivy smiled.

"Apology accepted. Thank you for the heads-up. And Scabbers was just defending Ron from some bullies. We weren't fighting."

The girl smiled at Ariel-Ivy's friendliness towards her. She nodded then introduced herself as Hermione Granger.

"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron said.

"And I'm..." Ariel paused, unsure of what to call herself. She made a split-second decision to call herself what everyone in this world knew her as. "... Ivy Potter. I'm Ivy Potter."

Hermione's face adopted a starstruck expression and she gasped. "Are you really? I've read all about you! I got some books for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century and oh wow I've never met a celebrity before!" She opened her mouth to say something else but Ivy interrupted her.

"I'd really rather you didn't go on about me like that. It's weird."

Hermione turned a bit pink again and murmured a quick, "Sorry."

"It's alright," Ivy said with a smile. "I just don't really think of myself as a celebrity, you know? I don't remember what happened, and for all we know, someone could have offed Voldemort while his back was turned and just not said anything. What's to say it was really me who killed him? I could have gotten my scar from falling!"

Hermione listened to all this enraptured, looking quite enlightened by the end of Ivy's explanation.

Ivy smiled at her one last time before turning digging a pair of robes and her uniform out of her trunk. She turned, held up the clothes and gave Ron a pointed look, gesturing to the door. He looked puzzled for a moment before blushing red and hightailing it out into the hallway. Hermione followed, not wanting to overstep personal boundaries. When Ron returned in his undersized uniform and knocked on the compartment door, Ivy let him in quickly.

She looked quite cute in her robes and uniform, though Ron would never tell her this. He liked her long, richly red hair. It was darker than his own orangey, ginger hair, and she lacked the freckles that most redheads possessed. Her skin was pale, and she was thin. 'Maybe a little too thin,' he noted. Her green eyes were extremely bright and expressive and her small, naturally-slightly-upturned nose reminded him of a bunny, which made her more endearing. She had a lovely smile and straight, white teeth which Ron envied. His teeth were a bit crooked in places.

She was small and pretty, and Ron liked that. Who cared about Ivy's fame? Ron didn't. She was nice, and she listened to what he had to say, and Ron liked that.

A voice echoed loudly all over the train, announcing their arrival in five minutes. They were to leave their luggage on the train; it would be delivered to the school separately.

Ivy became very nervous. Ron looked nauseous underneath his freckles. He crammed some sweets into the pockets of his undersized robes and walked with Ivy and Hermione into the crowd leading down the corridor. The train slowed and came to a gentle stop.

Everyone piled out of the different entrances of the train. The platform was small and dark, the air cold and moist. A tiny lamp came bobbing out of the darkest, high up. The voice that sounded was familiar to Ivy.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Ivy?"

The large face of Rubeus Hagrid smiled brightly beside the lamp he held up.

"C'mon, follow me — any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!" Ivy smiled at Hagrid's jolly form. He was such a friendly fellow.

Slipping on mud and rocks in the cool moist night, they followed Hagrid down a steep, narrow path. It was black on either side of the path, so it was either darker than Ivy anticipated, or there were thick trees there. Nobody spoke. All that was heard was the breathing of Ivy's companions as they concentrated on not falling and ruining their clothes on the muddy path.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."

They rounded the bend and Ivy was left breathless.

Hogwarts was a giant castle, sat atop a magnificent hill surrounded by a huge black lake that glimmered like oil. Windows sparkled in the night sky. The towers and turrets caressed the sky like loving fingers, and there were quite a few of them.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, breaking her spellbound pose. Ivy, Ron, Hermione, and Neville immediately crawled into one of the boats that floated serenely on the water near the shore. Hagrid took a boat for himself.

After checking that everyone was in a boat securely Hagrid started everyone forward. They came toward a great curtain of ivy that was bright green even in the darkness. They ducked when directed to and were carried through a tunnel that seemed to carry them right underneath the castle. Ivy couldn't get enough of the sights. They reached a small underground harbor, where they climbed out and stood on rocks until everyone was ready to go. One girl stood off to the side vomiting. She didn't react well to the boat ride.

Neville, who was still sniffling at the loss of his toad, was pleasantly surprised when Hagrid bellowed over the crowd to get his attention.

"Is this your toad!" Hagrid shouted.

Neville cried out happily and raced forward to gather his toad gently in his arm. He held it up and looked to be reprimanding it silently, but then noticed that everyone was watching and he blushed a deep red. A few students snickered.

They then followed Hagrid up the stone steps of the castle and crowded around the huge oak doors. Hagrid made sure everyone was still with him, and turned back to the door.

He raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the huge slab of oak.


	2. Chapter 2

The door opened only a second later. A tall witch with salt-and-pepper colored hair stood there swathed all in beautiful green robes. She looked very stern and Ivy knew not to cross her.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid informed her.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." Her voice was deep, but not masculine. It was deep in a rich way. She had a slight Scottish brogue that Ivy imagined became very prominent when she was angry.

Professor McGonagall pulled the door open wide so all of the students could enter easily. The entrance hall was large enough to fit at least a large house and another half of one inside of it. Torches lined the walls, lighting every inch of the spacious area. The ceiling was higher than Ivy could see and a magnificent marble staircase directly in front of them led to the other floors of the beautiful castle.

Ivy and the rest of the first years followed closely behind the Scottish Deputy Headmistress. Hundreds of voices could be heard in a room off to the side, but they bypassed this room and went on to a small chamber just past it. They all crowded in, standing closely together — too close for complete comfort.

Professor McGonagall stood in front of them with her hands clasped in front of her. She peered at all of them, slowly taking each of their faces into her memory. "Welcome," she began, "to Hogwarts.

"The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your Houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your House will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your House, sleep in your House dormitory, and spend free time in your House common room."

Professor McGonagall was greatly gifted in keeping a room silent while she spoke. Her comment about family, though, made Ivy think about her parents. She felt awful she hadn't thought of them before then, but everything had been so jumbled and exciting. A new world! She still wasn't sure how she'd gotten to this world and taken the place of the real Ivy Potter, but she knew it must have had something to do with magic.

"The four Houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each House has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your House points, while any rule breaking will lose House points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever House becomes yours."

It was a wonderful wording of an explanation and Ivy found herself appreciating Professor McGonagall's eloquence.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

She glanced around at the first years again, lingering on Ron and Neville, who seemed to be the most unkempt of the bunch. Ivy, who knew her hair was somewhat curly and quite messy sometimes, ran her fingers through her locks and smoothed them down.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," she said clearly. "Please wait quietly."

She walked briskly out of the small chamber and the first years immediately erupted into excited and frightened whispers.

Ivy turned to Ron and asked in a hushed voice, "Do you know how they plan to Sort us?"

"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking."

From what Ron had said, it wasn't a good idea to listen to anything the twins said, so Ivy just nodded quietly and went to thinking about it herself. Hermione was off to the side terrifying Neville by whispering all the knowledge she had gained of spells and magical history and what they may need for the Sorting.

Ivy supposed they wouldn't need any spells at all. They'd probably be sorted based on personality, wouldn't they? From the memories of the real Ivy Potter reading Hogwarts: A History each of the Houses had very different personality types. It would make the most sense for it to be based on that, since none of them knew any magic most likely.

Ivy's logical thinking was interrupted by shrieking and yells of horror. She jumped a foot in the air and spun to see why everyone was screaming.

She gasped, as well as a few other people around her. Floating through the walls and across the doorway were ghosts, at least twenty of them. They all had a milky transparency about them and one even looked to be covered in silver blood. They seemed to be arguing over something and hardly even spared the first years a glance.

What looked to be a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance —"

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost — I say, what are you all doing here?"

A middle-aged ghost who looked like he must have died in a medieval era of some sort had finally noticed the crowd of 11-year-olds crammed into one room.

Everyone was still too terrified to answer.

"New students!" the Friar realized happily. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?"

Ivy nodded slowly.

The Friar seemed quite excited to see new children in the school. He announced that Hufflepuff was his House and hoped to see some of them there. His jolly conversation attempt was interrupted by Professor McGonagall.

"Move along now," she said sharply. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start." She directed the crowd of children into a single file line and out back into the hall. Through the large doors where the buzzing of conversation was heard earlier they went.

Every student in the Great Hall fell silent as they entered, each eye turning to them. Ivy could see Fred and George and one other redheaded boy that could be related only to Ron sitting at the table on the far right.

Each table was the length of almost the entire Great Hall, lit by what seemed like a million candles, but was probably only a couple thousand, floating directly overhead. Each of the monstrously long tables was laid with glimmering golden plates and goblets for each student. At the front of the hall was yet another long table, though this one seemed to be only the width of the Great Hall. This table was where the professors sat, it seemed, for right at the center was Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. On either side of him sat adults that looked very magical indeed, wrapped in robes of all different colors.

Professor McGonagall led the first years up to this table where they stood surrounded on both sides by the older students. Their faces were mostly unidentifiable, simply because Ivy felt so self-conscious that she didn't want to look around. She could see the misty, pale ghosts here and there at the tables. She glanced up and her breath caught at the beauty she found there.

The ceiling looked like pitch velvet, dotted with bright, white and yellow stars. She remembered from the real Ivy's reading that the ceiling was enchanted to look exactly like the sky that was actually there. It was hard to believe that it was a ceiling at all because it held such magnificence.

The clatter of a stool being placed on the floor brought Ivy's attention back to Professor McGonagall. She placed a tatty brown hat that was pointed exactly like a fairy tail witch's hat on top of it and stepped back.

Everyone stared at the hat, waiting for something. A crease in the ragged old thing that Ivy thought must have been from the way it leaned forward twitched a bit, then opened wide. And then, it began to sing.

_"Oh you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see, _

_I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindor apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_If you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

Ivy thought this rhyme very amusing and informational at the same time. It told students of the traits of each House and let them hear something cute and musical.

"I'm going to kill Fred," Ron whispered to her after everyone got quiet again. "He was going on about a troll!"

Ivy smiled brightly. She knew they wouldn't make them do anything beyond their abilities. She wondered what House the Hat would choose for her. She'd always had a particular love for books, when she wasn't running around with her friends; she was loyal to her friends no matter what. She'd always stick by them; she wasn't sure about her level of courage. She could stand up to a bully when it was necessary, and she wouldn't lie about anything. Always telling the truth took a lot of courage, she supposed — especially if you did something really wrong; she couldn't think of a single trait that put her into Slytherin. She guessed she could come up with a plan that would probably work on the spot, but that was probably it. She didn't think she was very Slytherin at all.

Professor McGonagall pulled a list out of her robes and unraveled it. She stepped forward holding it up and peered over it.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be Sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"

The first girl to be Sorted was sorted into Hufflepuff, as well as the second. The third person, a boy named Boot, Terry was sorted into Ravenclaw and so was the fourth person. The fifth person, a blonde girl who looked like the girls at Ivy's elementary school who sat around talking about everyone else, was the first Gryffindor of the newcoming first years.

The sixth person to be sorted, a large girl who looked more like a brick wall than an 11-year-old girl, was sorted into Slytherin. Ivy glanced to the Slytherin table, which was on the far side opposite of Gryffindor table. They all looked rather dodgy and secretive — very unpleasant. Ivy wondered if this could just be because of the awful things the real Ivy Potter had heard about them, but doubted it highly.

Another boy was sorted into Hufflepuff and then Hermione was up. She walked briskly up to the stool, picked the hat up, sat down, and popped the hat onto her head. The hat shouted "GRYFFINDOR!" not a second later.

Hermione looked so excited at this news that one couldn't help but feel happy for her.

When Neville was finally up, he put the hat on shakily. It was a long time before Neville was announced to be a Gryffindor. He hobbled to the table and sat down in relief.

Malfoy was, of course, sorted into Slytherin — how could he not have been? That was all he'd been bragging about since they had gotten into the Great Hall.

The list went down the names in Alphabetical order. It finally got to the P's and Ivy began to feel the slightest bit nervous.

Despite freaking out and wanting to know where on Earth she was and how to get home at first, in the span of a day she had accepted this world fully. She missed her parents, of course she did. But that didn't mean she wanted to be sent home! Because that would be what would happen if the hat thought a girl from a nonmagical world was brought into the magical world.

Ivy didn't want to go up and place the hat on her head, only to be told to go home.

An adorably bubbly looking girl named Perks, Sally-Anne was called and sorted into Hufflepuff. And then, at last, it was Ivy's turn to step up to the stool.

"Potter, Ivy!"

She walked forward resolutely, ignoring the whispers of her name around the Great Hall. She picked up the large ratty hat, turned to sit on the stool, and placed the hat on her head. Darkness shrouded her eyes, and she heard a voice inside her head.

"Oh, yes, you're very interesting, aren't you? From another world entirely. I'm glad you've chosen to accept this world as your own, dear girl. You'll see your parents again soon," the hat said knowingly.

Ivy gasped softly, making the hat chuckle.

'You speak?' She asked it inside her head.

"Yes, of course I speak. How else would I figure out where to put the students of Hogwarts? I can't base everything off of their memories alone.

"Now, I believe we've socialized quite long enough. It's time I got you sorted, young lady."

The hat was silent for a few moment, then hummed quietly in frustration.

"Where SHALL I put you? Hmm, you've presented me quite the challenge, child. All I know is that we can definitely eliminate Slytherin. You haven't got a merciless bone in your body — and that's just what Slytherins are, you know. They're very merciless. They'll do anything to get what they want.

"I suppose we could eliminate Hufflepuff as well. You're loyal, but not loyal to a fault, like most Hufflepuffs. Don't tell them I told you that, they'd be quite peeved at me.

"Now, it's a tie between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. You show immense courage, while you also show traits of wit and knowledge and logical skills that would rival those of Rowena Ravenclaw. The question is: which of these House traits are more prevalent in you, my dear?"

It was silent for another moment, and Ivy wondered how long she'd been on the stool. Everyone else in the hall wondered what could take so long to sort the Girl Who Lived. She would obviously be a Gryffindor, wouldn't she?

The hat hummed again.

"You have much courage, but I do believe your wit surpasses even this. Your intelligence will help you fight your battles in the future. You will need the right environment to nurture this, and I don't think Gryffindor House will provide this nourishment of the mind. So, I believe you will do best in,

"RAVENCLAW!"

The hall was very much in shock, and then the cheering began. Every student seated at the Ravenclaw table was on their feet and going ballistic.

Ivy pulled the hat off her head, replaced it on the stool and walked to the table. She was greeted warmly as she took her seat, so she smiled at everyone who came into her line of sight.

It became quiet again with only the excited whispers of some of the more outgoing Ravenclaws jabbering about THE Ivy Potter being in their House. The remaining first years were sorted — Ron was sorted into Gryffindor with his brothers — and Professor McGonagall snatched the hat back up after rolling the list into a neat cylinder.

Everybody's plates were still empty. Everyone looked half-starved, and Ivy realized she, too, was quite famished. The sweets from the train seemed ages ago.

Headmaster Dumbledore stood in front of them now, looking over them with a merry little twinkle in his eye. He stood erect with his arms open wide as if to initiate a hug.

"Welcome!" He exclaimed. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin out banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!

"Thank you!"

He retook his seat and sat back smiling like a jolly old man at them. Everyone clapped and whistled and cheered. Ivy was somewhat perplexed, but knew it must have been relevant in some way or another.

She looked back to the table and gasped in amazement. Where there had been empty dishes a moment ago now lay a glorious amount a food. There was great variety, ranging from food that was distinctly vegetarian for the older students to food that you'd expect to see at an American Thanksgiving feast. It was magnificent!

Ivy now knew for sure that the odd words Headmaster Dumbledore had invoked must have been some sort of signal for the food to arrive. It was indeed very marvelous.

Ivy decided it was time to stop thinking and maybe start eating. There were so many wonderful things! She didn't know what to choose from. She decided on a bit of chicken, mashed potatoes, a dinner roll and a bit of green beans. She poured some brown gravy from a beautiful, silver gravy boat over her mashed potatoes and grabbed her fork. She was very ready to gorge herself.

Her fork, which had a chunk of chicken covered in mashed potatoes speared on the end, was nearly to her mouth when someone pushed their way into the small crevice between herself and Terry Boot. Her elbow jerked at the force, jamming the fork into the side of her mouth, covering her mouth and chin partially in potatoes and gravy.

Ivy dropped her fork onto her plate calmly while everyone giggled at how goofy she looked with food on her face. She picked up her napkin and wiped her mouth and chin clean. She folded the napkin and replaced it beside her plate.

She turned slowly to see who had made her stab herself in the face with a fork-full of messy food, eyes narrowed.

"Was that really necessary?" She said in annoyance. The girl, Asian with shiny black hair, looked like a deer caught in headlights. She looked like she was older than Ivy.

"Oh, gosh," she stuttered. "I'm sorry." Her voice was squeaky with nerves.

Ivy deflated and waved it off. "It's alright. I'm sure you didn't mean to. Although you could have just sat on the other side of me, instead of trying to squeeze into a non-existent space," Ivy teased. The Asian girl blushed and smiled in embarrassment.

"Right," she had an Irish sort of accent, "I'm Cho Chang," she introduced herself.

Ivy smiled. "Ivy," she said.

"Oh, I know. Everybody knows who you are."

Ivy nodded ruefully. "I know."

Ivy and Cho continued to speak to each other throughout the banquet. Ivy scooted over on the bench and slid the empty plate in front of Cho while simultaneously taking her plate back so she could continue to eat. It was a nice bit of socializing, so when it was time for Headmaster Dumbledore to talk again she was slightly disappointed.

Every crumb of the last course — dessert — vanished from their plates, leaving them a sparkling gold once more. It was quite the novelty.

Ivy looked up to the staff table, waiting. She glanced down the table where her eyes came to rest on a pale man with his head wrapped in a purple turban. He looked terrified of everything, even the shadow beneath the rim of his plate. This was Professor Quirrell whom the real Ivy Potter had met in The Leaky Cauldron.

Her eyes moved over to the person seated beside him. He was sallow-skinned witha black hair that glimmered wetly, like maybe his hair was oily from lack of washing. His nose was rather large and curled at the end in a subtle hook. His lips and cheeks were thin. He looked like he'd rather be sitting anywhere but next to Quirrell.

Ivy's eyes slid back over to Quirrell. They had barely touched him when a flash of white hot pain shot through her forehead. The one second it was there, it was nearly crippling. Her stomach heaved and she gasped, attracting a few people's attention. She ignored them when they asked what was wrong while she rubbed at her forehead, even though there wasn't a trace of pain left there.

The Hall fell silent as Headmaster Dumbledore stood once more to address the students.

"Just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered," he intoned with a gentle smile. "I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.

"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."

His shining blue eyes wandered in the direction of the Weasley twins. They had obviously wandered in on several occasions.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.

"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their House teams should contact Madam Hooch."

Ivy thought this sounded somewhat interesting, but didn't think she'd like to play any magical sports. Perhaps she would watch the trials to see what Quidditch was about.

"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

Ivy somehow doubted that Headmaster Dumbledore was joking about this. Everyone else seemed to think the same. Only a few chuckles could be heard about the Great Hall. She decided she'd look more into the out of bounds corridor at a later date, if it was necessary.

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Headmaster Dumbledore. He seemed genuinely excited to be hearing them sing. The other professors looked like they'd rather not listen to hundreds of students sing in awfully off-key voices.

The old headmaster flicked his wand and out came twisting golden ribbon. It curled and shaped itself into the words that made up the school song.

"Everyone pick their favorite tune," Headmaster Dumbledore said excitedly, "and off we go!"

The school took a collective breath and each student screamed at a different tempo:

_"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,_

_Teach us something please, _

_Whether we be old and bald_

_Or young with scabby knees, _

_Our heads could do with filling_

_With some interesting stuff,_

_For now they're bare and full of air,_

_Dead flies and bits of fluff,_

_So teach us things worth knowing,_

_Bring back what we've forgot,_

_Just do your best, we'll do the rest,_

_And learn until our brains all rot."_

Everybody ended at different times. Two girls at the other end of the Ravenclaw table were singing a ridiculous rendition of the song with every other note a run and trill in a very Christina Aguilara-esque fashion. They giggled every few words. At the Gryffindor table, Fred and George Weasley were singing a slow, sad funeral march. When everyone finished, Headmaster Dumbledore was one of the loudest to clap.

"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

The Ravenclaw first years followed a nice older girl named Penelope Clearwater out of the Great Hall and up many flights of stairs. She warned them of the many trick stairs and changing staircases while they walked. She pointed out hallways and classrooms and nearest bathrooms. After climbing to what felt like the tippy top of the entire castle they finally stopped.

Penelope stuck an arm out to halt them and put a finger to her lips. There was a door in front of them. A woman's voice spoke from the door.

_"Voiceless it cries,_

_Wingless flutters,_

_Toothless bites,_

_Mouthless mutters."_

"The other houses have passwords to get into their common rooms. Ravenclaws answer a riddle," Penelope explained. Ivy immediately began to think of the answer. She came up with the answer swiftly.

"Does anybody know the answer?" Penelope asked.

"It's wind," Ivy said loudly, feeling quite accomplished.

"Good job!"

Ivy smiled and said, "Thank you."

The door swung open to allow the students entrance. It was a grand room, with blue and bronze covering every inch of the place. There was an amazing window seat where they could sit and read in the sunshine. Tables and chairs were strategically scattered where they could sit comfortably and study or do their school work. Sofas sat in front of a large hearth where there was a fire already lit in the grate. It was fantastic.

"To the right are the girl's dorms. To the left are the boy's. have a nice night," Penelope told them. She walked off to the girl's dorms with a smile.

Everybody stumbled their way to their prospective rooms and got comfortable. Their trunks and things were already there, so they chose their beds and settled in.

Ivy fell asleep that night thinking of Professor Quirrell that night, and when she slept, she dreamt of him. They were awful dreams, but she did not remember them when she woke the next morning.


End file.
